Cosmo's Moon
by Em4
Summary: First in Moonstruck Series. Carter and Abby at the Clair de Lune!


AUTHOR: Em

CATEGORY: A bit of everything

SPOILERS: None

ARCHIVE: Just ask  
DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters of ER.  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: After a long and boring day at work I decided to make myself feel better by watching a whole lot of soppy films. One of them inspired this little piece of nothing, and even though I have other things to be working on I couldn't get this idea out of my head. Hope you enjoy it.

SUMMARY: After a long day at Work Carter and Abby settle down in front of the TV to watch some videos and relax, and a little magic occurs.

Cosmo's Moon

Carter and Abby sat on the couch in their apartment, a huge bowl of popcorn between them and a video playing in the background. After a long day at work they had decided against going out with the rest of the staff and had instead settled for a night vegging out in front of the TV. Not being able to find anything that they agreed upon on the TV Abby had raided her video collection and pulled out an old copy of "Moonstruck". Carter had of course protested at first, insisting that they watch something that wasn't, in his words, "a chick flick," but after Abby pointed out to him the damage sleeping on the couch for the next week would do to his back he became surprisingly accommodating!  

He wasn't really paying that much information to the film, and occasionally attempted to start up a conversation, but she would just answer him impatiently and return her concentration to the screen. Seeing that Abby was engrossed in the movie, and knowing that it was one of her favourites, he decided to try watching it himself.

 ~~~~~

_"Cosmo. Many years ago, when they told me you were marrying my sister, I was happy. When I told Rose I was marrying Rita, she was happy." _

_"Marriage is happy news."_

_"Pass the wine."_

_"I never seen anybody so in love like Cosmo back then! He'd stand outside the house all day and look in the windows. I never told you this cause it's not really a story. But one time I woke up in the middle of the night cause this bright light was in my face. Like a flashlight. I couldn't think a what it was. I looked out the window, and it was the moon! Big as a house! I never seen the moon so big before or since. I was almost scared, like it was gonna crush the house. And I looked down, and standing there in the street was Cosmo, looking up at the windows. This is the funny part. I got mad at you, Cosmo! I thought you brought this big moon over to my house cause you were so in love and woke me up with it. I was half asleep I guess and didn't know no better."_

_"You were altogether asleep. You were dreaming." _

_"No. You were there."_

~~~~~

"So who is that speaking?" he asked, wanting to get up to speed on what was happening in the film.

"That's Raymond," Abby replied quickly, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Who's Raymond?"

"Rose's brother."

"Who's Rose?"

"Olympia Dukakis."

"I thought she was Rita?" He asked, becoming confused.

"No," she answered patiently, becoming increasingly annoyed as she tried to focus on the screen, "Rita is Raymond's wife. Now Ssh."

"Oh, Ok." His questions answered he settled back to watch the film, but after a moment another question occurred to him. "So who is Cher?"

This was the last straw! Turning away from the television screen she laid into him. "Cher is Loretta, Cosmo and Rose's daughter, and if you watched the film instead of asking stupid questions you might actually know that!" She turned back to the television with a huff and crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring intently at the television. He knew that he had upset her, that she hated people who talked over movies, so he decided the best course of action was probably to shut up and watch the movie…but he couldn't resist it. With a mischievous grin on his face he leaned closer to her and whispered into her ear.

"So which one is Cosmo?"

"Right, that's it!" she kneeled up on the couch and picked up a cushion from beside her, using all her strength to whack him round the head with it. He tried to fight her off but was laughing so hard that his attempts to fight back were ineffectual. When she started to tickle him he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"OKAY, okay! I won't ask any more questions! I PROMISE!!!" She stopped tickling him and sat back on her heels, eyeing him warily.

"You'll be quiet and watch the rest of the movie?" 

"I can't promise I won't fall asleep from the sheer boredom," he joked, "but yeah, I'll be quiet."

This seemed to placate her; she put down the cushion and settled back against his chest as he brought his arms around her waist. They lay there in silence, entwined in each others arms, and continued to watch the movie.

~~~~~

_"What's that?"_

_"What?"_

_"That light."_

_"I don't know. I think it's the moon."_

_"Oh."_

_"It's so bright."_

_"I've never seen a moon like that."_

_"It makes you look like an angel."_

~~~~~

Abby was enjoying herself. Watching Cher and Nicholas Cage hold each other in front ofthe window, the moonlight pooling around them, she realised how lucky she was to have John Carter in her life. Every other time she had watched this film she had cried at this point because she didn't believe she would ever have that kind of relationship, the kind where you could just hold somebody and not have to talk. Where just being with each other was enough. She smiled to herself and pulled Carter's arms closer around her, snuggling deeper into his chest…which was when she heard the snoring.

He had fallen asleep! The most romantic part of the film and he had fallen asleep!

"John!" she said sharply, immediately waking him from his little snooze.

"Wha? I'm awake. I'm awake." He pulled himself up a little and stared fixedly at the screen.

"OK, then, what just happened?"

_*You got a date?*_

"Cher's going on a date," he said.

"You just heard that on the video," she accused. "You weren't watching."

"Well I'm watching now, okay?"

A few minutes passed in silence, both of them intently watching the film, when she heard Carter let out a deep breath.

"Wow," he said quietly.

"What?" Abby had become engrossed in the film again, watching Loretta's transformation from dowdy accountant to vamp for her date with Nicholas Cage, and was waiting for the moment when they would meet in front of the Met.

"Cher's *Hot*" He sounded surprised when he said this, and Abby was a little puzzled by his reaction. She turned in his arms to look at him.

"You think Cher's hot?" she asked.

"Ordinarily no, but looking at her in that dress and with that make-up…I'm not saying she can hold a candle to you, but she's certainly a credit to her surgeon."

Abby paused before replying, breaking her rule of no talking during the movie. "Do you think I should get a bit of work done? Maybe a boob job?" She pushed out her chest as she said this, trying to gauge what she'd look like with bigger breasts.

"Of course not!" He pulled her closer to him and gave her a tight squeeze. "I like my women natural."

"Good." She smiled as he kissed the top of her head. "Now watch the movie."

"Yes ma'am!"

They again settled down into silence. Abby could tell that Carter had drifted off again but she decided to let him sleep this time. Today had obviously been pretty rough for him and he must need his sleep, and besides, she didn't like the idea of him watching Cher too much if he thought she was that good looking…call her paranoid!

~~~~~

_"Do you love him, Loretta?"_

_"Yeah, Ma, I love him awful."_

_"Oh God, that's too bad."_

~~~~~

The film ended, and Abby sniffed back little tears of happiness as she gently pulled herself free of Carter's embrace and sat on the edge of the couch. Looking down at his sleeping form, the last dying rays of sunlight hitting his face, she was struck by how young and innocent looked, like a little boy. She reached forward to brush a stray strand of hair back from his forehead, then bent forward to place a soft kiss on the spot where her hand had just been. The sensation caused his eyelids to flutter open, and for a few minutes they stayed where they were, staring into each others eyes. Abby was the first to break the silence.

"Come on," she said softly, rising from the couch and reaching out to take his hand. "It's getting late, and we've both got to be up early in the morning."

He mumbled something incoherent as he took her hand and followed her into the bedroom, where they both decided to forgo a shower and just flopped into the bed. Carter was asleep the second his head hit the pillow, not that he'd been really awake in the first place Abby thought, but she stayed awake a little longer, looking out at the darkening sky through the open window, before joining Carter in sleep.

~~~~~

_"Rita. Rita."_

_"What? What?"_

_"Look."_

_"Oh."_

_"It's Cosmo's moon."_

_~~~~~_

Abby awoke with a start to find the bedroom flooded with moonlight. She looked over to the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was after midnight. She had only been asleep for a few hours, but what a difference those few hours made. Whereas before the sky had been the delicious purple of twilight it was now completely black, but the light shining from the moon was so bright it almost gave the appearance of day. It was as if some supernatural force was pulling Abby towards that moon, almost against her will. She got up from the bed and walked over to the window that was glowing with the moonlight. Suddenly the light struck her, and she was caught in its spell.

"Abby?"

Carter woke up to find the space in the bed next to him was empty. He looked around the room and found Abby standing by the window, mesmerised, and when she didn't respond to his call he got up from the bed and walked over to where she was standing. He felt her give a little start as he put his arms around her waist and bent down to kiss her neck, but she quickly relaxed her body against his chest and continued to look down at the sidewalk.

 "So is he down there?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Who?"

"Cosmo. That looks exactly like that moon in the film."

"You were watching," she said simply. They were both speaking in hushed voices, as if they were in a church and to speak any louder would be a sacrilege.

"Yeah, but don't tell anybody. I've got a reputation to protect."

"What reputation?" she laughed quietly.

"It's a guy-thing. Let them know that I sat through a chick flick and I'll never hear the end of it!"

"I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. It's things like this that make me realise just how wonderful it is to be with you sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" he teased.

"What can I say? You snore."

They stood there for what seemed like hours, but was in fact only a couple of minutes. The light of the moon had them both transfixed, and neither of them had the power, nor the inclination, to move away from it at that moment in time. All of a sudden Carter had an inspiration: he didn't know what it was, but he knew that he had to see Abby's face. He turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him, the moonlight reflecting the glow in her eyes as she looked back at him. She looked so beautiful in that moment that he spoke without thinking.

"You know, I hadn't planned on doing this tonight so this isn't going to be the most eloquent thing in the world, but standing here, holding you, looking at the moon…life doesn't get much more perfect than this. Finding you is the best thing that has ever happened to me, Abby, and these last few months living together? Well, I don't know how to tell you what they've meant to me. I know I should wait until we've gotten used to each other, until we're both ready, but if I don't say this now I don't know that I'll ever be able to find the courage again. So Abby Wyzinski Lockhart. In the light of this moon. Will you marry me?" 

He took a deep breath and held it as he waited for her to answer. She smiled before answering, recognising in his words the proposal scene from Moonstruck.

"Yes, John Truman Carter. I will marry you."

He let out a sigh of relief and hugged her close to him, spinning her round the room before placing her feet back on the ground and lowering his face to meet hers. The laughter that had been on both their lips died as their mouths moved closer together, finally meeting in a kiss so soft it was almost impossible to feel it. This was not a kiss, it was a sealing of a pact, a promise that they would always be there for each other no matter what. Carter pulled back from the kiss and bent down to pick Abby off the ground, carrying her over to the bed and depositing her gently. He looked down at her for a moment, the moonlight pooling around her body giving her a luminescent glow, and swiftly covered her body with his own…

-------------------

Abby and Carter awoke the next morning in the same position they had fallen asleep in, holding each other tightly. Carter brought his hand up to Abby's face and stroked her cheek, marvelling in it's softness.

"Hey," she said softly, smiling at his caress.

"Hey," he replied in a similar tone. They continued to lie there in silence for a few minutes, just watching each other, until Abby again spoke up in a tone of hushed awe.

"Did you really ask me to marry you last night or was I just dreaming?"

"That depends," he replied, still stroking her cheek and staring deep into her eyes. "Did you say 'yes' or was I just dreaming?" His gaze was so intense that Abby could feel herself blushing, so she looked down and smiled shyly.

"I said yes." 

He put a finger under her chin and brought her face up to meet his, staring into her eyes once more. 

"Then I was most definitely asking."

They both smiled at this, genuine heartfelt smiles that radiated through their whole bodies. Abby laughed and brought her arms up around Carter's neck, sharing a deep kiss that they could both feel in every inch of themselves. When they reluctantly broke apart for air Abby rested her cheek against Carter's chest, smiling as she thought this was going to be the way she woke up every morning for the rest of her life…and the thought didn't frighten her at all.

Carter, for his part, was also thinking that he could not think of a more perfect way to spend the rest of his life than with this woman beside him. He brought his arms around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, and kissed the top of her head as she snuggled closer into his chest…God he loved it when she did that! Like she was staking a claim to him.

"So we're going to be getting married?" He felt her words through his entire body as she spoke into his chest. He had a hard time keeping himself under control as he replied. He didn't want to say or do anything too quickly for fear of breaking the spell that had seemed to come over them both.

"Looks like it."

"You're not scared?"

"No. You?"

"No." She smiled into his chest, then paused to think a moment before continuing. "What made it all change? We've been together for a while now, and I think we've been happy, so what got into us last night?"

"I don't know," he replied thoughtfully, trying to think what it was about the night before that had made him suddenly unsatisfied with the almost perfect relationship they had had. He remained silent for a few moments as he thought, when all of a sudden a line from the film popped into his head and it seemed the only logical explanation to him. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Must be that crazy moon Cosmo sent over."

-------------------------------

**THE END?**

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